Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T02:54:55.871Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Men, Masculinity, and Male Domination: Reframing Feminist Analyses of Sex Work

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2005

C. Heike Schotten
C. Heike Schotten
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts-Boston
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Prostitution has been considered by feminists as, alternatively, a gendered relation, an issue of sexuality, and a kind of labor. In this article, I argue for an integrated feminist analysis of sex work that focuses on the first and third of these, leaving the second in the background. I argue that this reconstructed feminist analysis must reject the moralism and determinism of the gendered critique, and radicalize the economic critique. It must also, I suggest, orient itself toward consideration of prostitution as a symptom or function of various masculinities. In all cases, feminism has considered sex work as a question or problem of women's agency and sexuality. Reversing this standard feminist approach offers important new directions for empirical research, and denaturalizes prostitution as an inevitable feature of human life. This denaturalization radicalizes the otherwise traditional policy debate over prostitution by allowing for a more revolutionary critique of the relations of domination that both govern and constitute sex work as a stigmatized, hierarchical, and exploitative practice.I would like to thank Kate Baldwin, John Christman, Brandon Fogel, Traci Levy, William Roberts, Michael Zuckert, and four anonymous reviewers for Politics & Gender for their helpful criticism and insightful commentary on previous drafts of this article. Conversations with Terri Horning proved invaluable to its theoretical development.

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , June 2005 , pp. 211 - 240
Copyright
© 2005 The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aggleton, Peter, ed. 1999. Men Who Sell Sex: International Perspectives on Male Prostitution and HIV/AIDS. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Alexander, Priscilla. 1998. “A Difficult Issue for Feminists.” In Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry (2d ed.), ed. Frédérique Delacoste and Priscilla Alexander. San Francisco: Cleis Press, 184–230.
Barry, Kathleen. 1979. Female Sexual Slavery. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Barry, Kathleen. 1995. The Prostitution of Sexuality. New York: New York University Press.
Bell, Laurie, ed. 1987. Good Girls/Bad Girls: Sex Trade Workers and Feminists Face to Face. Toronto: The Women's Press.
Bishop, Ryan, and Lillian S. Robinson. 1998. Night Market: Sexual Cultures and the Thai Economic Miracle. New York: Routledge.
Bishop, Ryan, and Lillian S. Robinson. 2002. “Traveller's Tails: Sex Diaries of Tourists Returning from Thailand.” In Transnational Prostitution: Changing Global Patterns, ed. Susanne Thorbek and Bandana Pattanaik. London: Zed Books, 13–23.
Brody, Alyson. 1997. Trafficking in Women in the Asia-Pacific Region: A Regional Report. Bangkok: Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women.
Brown, Wendy. 1995. “The Mirror of Pornography.” In States of Injury: Power and Freedom in Late Modernity. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Cabezas, Amalia Lucía. 1998. “Discourses of Prostitution: The Case of Cuba.” In Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance, and Redefinition, ed. Jo Doezema and Kamala Kempadoo. New York: Routledge, 79–86.
Califia, Pat. 2000. Public Sex: The Culture of Radical Sex. 2d ed. San Francisco: Cleis.
Califia, Patrick. 2002. Speaking Sex to Power: The Politics of Queer Sex. San Francisco: Cleis.
Chapkis, Wendy. 1997. Live Sex Acts: Women Performing Erotic Labor. New York: Routledge.
Cornell, Drucilla. 1991. Beyond Accommodation: Ethical Feminism, Deconstruction, and the Law. New York: Routledge.
Davidson, Julia O'Connell. 1998. Prostitution, Power and Freedom. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Davidson, Julia O'Connell. 2002. “The Rights and Wrongs of Prostitution.” Hypatia 17 (Spring): 84–98.Google Scholar
Davidson, Julia O'Connell, and Derek Layder. 1994. Methods, Sex, and Madness. New York: Routledge.
Davidson, Julia O'Connell, and Jacqueline Sanchez Taylor. 1999. “Fantasy Islands: Exploring the Demand for Sex Tourism.” In Sun, Sex, and Gold: Tourism and Sex Work in the Caribbean, ed. Kamala Kempadoo. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 37–54.
Delacoste, Frédérique, and Priscilla Alexander, eds. 1998. Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry. 2d ed. San Francisco: Cleis.
Doezema, Jo. 1998. “Forced to Choose: Beyond the Voluntary v. Forced Prostitution Dichotomy.” In Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance, and Redefinition, ed. Jo Doezema and Kamala Kempadoo. New York: Routledge, 34–50.
Doezema, Jo, and Kamala Kempadoo, eds. 1998. Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance, and Redefinition. New York: Routledge.
Duggan, Lisa, and Nan Hunter. 1995. Sex Wars: Sexual Dissent and Political Culture. New York: Routledge.
Ericsson, Lars. 1980. “Charges Against Prostitution: An Attempt at a Philosophical Assessment.” Ethics 90 (April): 335–66.Google Scholar
Haraway, Donna. 1991. “A Cyborg Manifesto.” In Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge, 149–82.
Harris, Angela. 1990. “Race and Essentialism in Feminist Legal Theory.” Stanford Law Review 42: 581–616.Google Scholar
Høigård, Cecilie, and Liv Finstad. 1992. Backstreets: Prostitution, Money, and Love. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.
Human Rights Watch. 1995. Global Report on Women's Human Rights. New York: Human Rights Watch.
Jeffreys, Sheila. 1997. The Idea of Prostitution. North Melbourne, Australia: Spinifex.
Kempadoo, Kamala. 1998a. “Introduction: Globalizing Sex Workers' Rights.” In Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance, and Redefinition, ed. Jo Doezema and Kamala Kempadoo. New York: Routledge, 1–28.
Kempadoo, Kamala. 1998b. “The Migrant Tightrope: Experiences from the Caribbean.” In Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance, Redefinition, ed. Jo Doezema and Kamala Kempadoo. New York: Routledge, 124–38.
Lim, L. Lean, ed. 1998. The Sex Sector: The Economic and Social Bases of Prostitution in Southeast Asia. New York: International Labor Organization.
MacKinnon, Catharine. 1987. Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
MacKinnon, Catharine. 1989. Toward a Feminist Theory of the State. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
MacKinnon, Catharine. 1993. “Prostitution and Civil Rights.” Michigan Journal of Gender and Law 1: 13–31.Google Scholar
MacKinnon, Catharine. 2001. “The Case Responds.” American Political Science Review 95 (3): 709–11.Google Scholar
Marlowe, Julian. 1997. “It's Different for Boys.” In Whores and Other Feminists, ed. Jill Nagle. New York: Routledge, 141–44.
Marx, Karl. 1977. Capital: Volume I. Trans. Ben Fowkes. New York: Vintage.
Monto, Martin. 1999. “Why Men Seek Out Prostitutes.” In Sex for Sale: Prostitution, Pornography, and the Sex Industry, ed. Ronald Weitzer. New York: Routledge, 67–84.
Nagle, Jill. 1997. “Introduction.” Whores and Other Feminists, ed. Jill Nagle. New York: Routledge, 1–18.
Namaste, Viviane K. 2000. Invisible Lives: The Erasure of Transsexual and Transgendered People. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Nestle, Joan. 1998. “Lesbians and Prostitutes: A Historical Sisterhood.” In Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry (2d ed.), ed. Frédérique Delacoste and Priscilla Alexander. San Francisco: Cleis, 247–65.
Nussbaum, Martha. 1999. “‘Whether from Reason or Prejudice’: Taking Money for Bodily Services.” In Sex and Social Justice. New York: Oxford University Press, 276–98.
Overall, Christine. 1992. “What's Wrong with Prostitution? Evaluating Sex Work.” Signs 17 (Summer): 236–54.Google Scholar
Pateman, Carole. 1983. “Defending Prostitution: Charges Against Ericsson.” Ethics 93 (April): 561–65.Google Scholar
Pateman, Carole. 1988. “What's Wrong with Prostitution?” In The Sexual Contract. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 189–218.
Pheterson, Gail, ed. 1989. A Vindication of the Rights of Whores. Seattle: The Seal Press.
Queen, Carol. 1997a. Real Live Nude Girl. San Francisco: Cleis.
Queen, Carol. 1997b. “Sex Radical Politics, Sex-Positive Feminist Thought, and Whore Stigma.” In Whores and Other Feminists, ed. Jill Nagle. New York: Routledge, 125–35.
Rubin, Gayle. 1984. “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality.” In Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality, ed. Carole Vance. Boston: Routledge, 267–319.
Schaeffer, Denise. 2001. “Feminism and Liberalism Reconsidered: The Case of Catharine MacKinnon.” American Political Science Review 95 (September): 699–708.Google Scholar
Shrage, Laurie. 1989. “Should Feminists Oppose Prostitution?” Ethics 99 (January): 347–61.Google Scholar
Shrage, Laurie. 1994a. Moral Dilemmas of Feminism: Prostitution, Adultery, and Abortion. New York: Routledge.
Shrage, Laurie. 1994b. “Comment on Overall's ‘What's Wrong with Prostitution? Evaluating Sex Work.’ ” Signs 19 (Winter): 564–70.Google Scholar
Vanwesenbeeck, Ine. 1994. Prostitutes' Well-Being and Risk. Amsterdam: VU University Press.
Wardlow, Holly. 2004. “Anger, Economy, and Female Agency: Problematizing ‘Prostitution’ and ‘Sex Work’ Among the Huli of Papua New Guinea.” Signs 29 (4): 1017–1040.Google Scholar
West, Donald. 1993. Male Prostitution. New York: Haworth.
Wijers, Marjan. 1998. “Women, Labor, and Migration: The Position of Trafficked Women and Strategies for Support.” In Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance, and Redefinition, ed. Jo Doezema and Kamala Kempadoo. New York: Routledge, 69–78.
Zatz, Noah. 1997. “Sex Work/Sex Act: Law, Labor, and Desire in Constructions of Prostitution.” Signs 22 (Winter): 277–308.Google Scholar